John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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147. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the efforts being made to increase the number of qualified primary teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17200/25]

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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520. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the efforts to increase the supply of primary school teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14612/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 520 together.

This Government is fully committed to ensuring that every child has a positive school experience, with access to qualified and engaged teachers who are dedicated to supporting their learning. This remains a top priority.

As with other sectors, recruitment challenges exist in some schools. To address teacher supply issues, my Department has implemented several measures that have led to:

• an increase of 20% in Initial Teacher Education graduates (student teachers) between 2018 and 2023 and a 30% increase in the number registered with the Teaching Council since 2017, and
• between 2018 and 2024 there has been a significant increase of 5,621 (13.08%) primary allocated teaching posts.

The Department has been working on an analysis of the teacher workforce. Data for March 2024 showed there were over 43,000 qualified primary teachers employed in Ireland including special schools.

Teaching is an attractive career choice:

• with 1,846 newly qualified primary teachers registered with the Teaching Council in 2024.
• first preference data from the CAO published recently showed an increase in primary first preferences of 9%.
• the new pay deal will mean that teachers’ starting salary will increase to €46,000 rising to a maximum of €85,000 per year which compares well internationally.